Posts Tagged ‘HVAC’

On my Linked In page, I passed on a link to an article titled, “Makeup Air for Range Hoods” (http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/musings/makeup-air-range-hoods). The author, Martin Holladay, digs into the details of adding a larger range hood to a home. In particular, he investigated whether consumers were warned about what could be the impact of adding such a hood to a home. Mr. Holladay’s blog is a fair warning to consumers that they might not be warned about products that could have a negative impact on your home’s environment, and that impact could be hazardous.

In this post, as I promised on my LI page, I am going to dig into more detail about the impact the fan or other devices that change home pressurization could have on the home and potentially its occupants. Let me start the same way. Consider your home–or any building for that matter–as a box. When air is removed from that box, replacement air has to come into the box to replace the air that is removed. This replacement air is normally called makeup air by building professionals. The issue is from where that makeup air comes.

If the home is air leaky, makeup air will come through openings in the building’s exterior shell, i.e. walls, roof, windows, doors, etc. Leaks are usually a major issue because the air can come from many places. Rehabbing older homes cuts down on the leaks, but usually cannot totally eliminate them. But, even newer, so-called tight, buildings have air leaks. The problem with air leaks in all buildings is mainly a thermal comfort issue because leaks cause drafts, and few people enjoy the feeling of a cold air stream inside the home on a cold day. Another just as important issue is that if air can come in through a leak, it can go out through a leak, which translates into loss of heated or cooled air. But, air streams flowing past hoods, fireplaces, ventless heaters, etc. can impact their operation.

Air is a lot like most people in that it takes the path of least resistance. So, air coming through leaks can mess with the home’s return air system. For a heating and air conditioning system to work properly, adequate air of a certain temperature has to be supplied to an area to compensate for the heat gain or loss from that area. What may no be known is that air has to also be removed from the area to help the supply air side of the system work right. In buildings with poor return air systems, large temperature differences could exist from one area to another even if the supply air flow is ideally designed and installed. What can happen is that air entering through leaks has the path of least resistance to the air handler. That air, then, prevents the return air system from returning air back to the air handler from some (or all) of the building’s areas. Those areas that do not have proper air return will be hotter or colder, depending on whether the air handling system is in the cooling or heating mode, respectively. Alternatively, those areas through which the leak air is traveling could be too hot or too cold.

What about buildings that are pretty well sealed? If the exhaust fans in the home do not have adequate makeup air, they will either not move as much air as designed or makeup air will come from wherever it can, which might be from undesirable places, such as through flues or chimneys. The condition of air flowing in the reverse direction from which it is intended is called backdrafting. When backdrafting occurs in flues and chimneys, combustion gases, including carbon monoxide, could be pulled into the home. When wood is not being burnt in the fireplace, backdrafting air can pull creosote emissions into the home, which believe me is not a desirable fragrance. Backdrafting can also impact combustion of some appliances, making them less efficient.

What if a combustion appliance, such as a water heater or furnace, have flue booster fans that are supposed to push the exhaust gases outdoors. If the appliance is a closed system, such as many of the higher efficiency furnaces, no impact should be expected because closed systems pull air directly from outdoors. Appliances that pull air from the general building air, as do the water heaters with flue fans, may be affected, depending on which fan in the building moves more air or other characteristics.

The impact that exhaust fans could have on other combustion appliances is not unknown to building professionals, though. Some homes with furnaces that used general home air for combustion have a duct that runs from outdoors to somewhere in the vicinity of the furnace. That is all. This duct is not connected to any fans or any other devices. This duct is simply a path for air to travel from outdoors to indoors to makeup air removed from the home. Do they work? Maybe. But, as I said earlier, air takes the path of least resistance and, if the duct is not the path of least resistance, it will not work.

The concern as stated in the blog post cited at the beginning of this blog in particular was discussing the installation of large kitchen exhaust fans that move over 1000 cubic feet per minute (cfm) of air. That is an extraordinarily large fan for a home. Will the usual kitchen exhaust fan cause the same issues? If it doesn’t exhaust air outdoors, which is normal for these fans, the answer is most likely no. If the fan exhausts air outdoors, the answer is maybe. By itself, the fan likely will not cause backdrafting at the least. That fan in combination with other fans might cause backdrafting. Again, if the home is air leaky, any exhaust fan can pull air through leaks, causing thermal comfort and/or heating or cooling efficiency issues.

Are exhaust fans the only things that can cause air leakage or backdrafting issues? Well, no. All buildings have a chimney effect where heated air rises within the building. As this air rises, air is pulled into the building at lower levels. The chimney effect is for the usual home is definitely not as great as that for a high rise building. In most homes, backdrafting due to the chimney effect is likely not an issue; but the chimney effect can cause drafts in lower parts of the home. The only way to know whether a backdrafting or draft issue exists is through investigation. A homeowner might be able to investigate the issue using smoke from an incense stick or other air flow indicator. However, a professional will know more about the conditions to which to test under and will have more sophisticated instruments than a homeowner.

So, if you have this favorite nook in your home that sometimes feels comfortable and then other times feels drafty, consider that the reason could be an exhaust fan or the home’s air handler pulling air through a leak. What to do about it from there is up to you.

In previous posts, I discussed how humidification systems work and how effective a central humidification system might be. In that post, I hinted at differences between central (whole house) humidification systems and portable (local) humidification systems. In this post, I want to discuss more about the differences between the two systems.

If you have not realized yet from previous posts, I am biased–I am not a fan of central humidification systems. I see them often in the homes I inspect; but I suspect that most do not work as intended. Yet, there they are. I have to wonder if the installation company actually analyzed the need for a humidification system or was just selling a product that is quite profitable for the company. Simply asking the homeowner whether he and/or she wanted a humidification system is not the analysis about which I am talking, by the way.

Following are the reasons that I believe a PHS is better than a central humidification system. For simplification, CHS is used for central humidification system, while PHS is used for PHS.

First is the big picture. Why try to humidify a whole home when all of the home occupants are not in all of the home’s areas at once? Let me put is bluntly, injecting a gallon of water into a room is going to be more effective at raising the humidity than injecting a gallon of water into the whole home.

Second is effectiveness. I believe that a portable humidification system providing spot moisture would likely work better than a CHS. With a PHS, moisture from a judicially placed unit can be directed into the air around a person’s head (the area that industrial hygienist types call the breathing zone or when they really want to be cool—the BZ). Even if the PHS cannot be aimed to direct moisture into the occupant’s breathing zone, it can be located close enough to elevate the moisture in the air people are breathing. If the room can be closed up, such as a bedroom, humidification will likely be more successful than trying to humidify an entire home. In fact, in the previous blog where I discussed virus and humidification, a portable humidifier was used in that research. As my previous blog post showed,, CHSs are probably not effective at significantly elevating humidity levels in some homes, particularly air leaky homes.

Home leakiness leads to the third reason portable is better than CHSs—losses. Moisture in the air is in the form of water vapor, which behaves like the other gases in air. As such, if the amount of airborne moisture in one area is greater than in another area, moisture in the first area will travel to the second area as long as the two areas are connected. On cold winter days, the amount of moisture in the outdoor air is usually lower than the amount in indoor air (a subject for another post). In air leaky homes, indoor moisture will likely move outdoors, even if outdoor air is moving in the opposite direction. So, most of the water a CHS is putting into the air could be traveling directly outdoors, barely elevating the indoor humidity levels. Over an entire home, the total area of the air leaks is less than those in a single room. Therefore, the amount of moisture being lost from one area will be less than throughout all areas. If a PHS is supplying more moisture to a given area than the central system is supplying to the entire home area, moisture levels in the area with the PHS will be greater. Even if the moisture from the PHS is also traveling outdoors, it has a better chance of being effective as it travels through people’s breathing zones on it trip outdoors.

A fourth reason is condensation areas. Most homes have cold surfaces in the winter where condensation can occur. The chances that condensation surfaces are in the same room with a PHS are less than the chances of moisture from a CHS seeing a condensation surface.

A fifth reason is better humidity control. Some PHSs now come with their own humidistats. Basically, the portable unit is sensing the humidity right in the space where the person is. CHS humidistats are installed in the return air duct in an effort to sense the “average” humidity in the home. What happens if the return air system is pulling more air from some areas of the home than others, meaning that it is not sensing the true average humidity levels? That issue is more common than you might think. Some central system humidistats are placed on a wall in the home; but those also have the same issues as far as sensing the “average” humidity levels.

A sixth reason is operation. CHSs, if they are working right, only humidify air when the air handling system is working. During the rest of the time, the CHS is at the mercy of the thermostat. The central humidification control system has to wait until the thermostat calls for heat before it can work. Just in case someone is thinking that the CHS can be set to operate without the furnace, remember that the CHS needs air moving through it to work. Someone is likely also thinking that the thermostat can be set to ON so that the fan is operating all the time. Then, if the humidistat calls for humidification, air will be flowing through the CHS. It could; but, the reason air downstream of the furnace is passed through the CHS is because heated air can hold more moisture than cooler air. So, more water will be lost with the CHS if unheated air is passed through it than heated air. With PHSs, the unit is always injecting moisture into the air without the need for moving air to transport the moisture.

A seventh reason is maintenance. If a valve on the CHS sticks open, water will be dumped right down the drain when air is not moving through it. In some cases, the CHS drain is plugged up, and water is dumped into the air handler and then ultimately onto the floor outside the unit. If that water travels to nearby furnished areas, moisture-related damage can occur. Sometimes, the damage is extensive, such as shown in the photos below. The fact is that CHSs are usually not inspected very often and problems may not found until a serious malfunction occurs. If a PHS malfunctions, it is usually right in the same room with the home’s occupants, who can then see that a problem is occurring. Maintenance of a PHS is usually so easy that the home owner can do it. For most homeowners, a HVAC technician is needed to service the CHS. Remember too, that the more debris that collects on the media inside a CHS, the less air can get through the CHS and the less effective it will be. The PHS, on the other hand, can be kept clean of debris.

Water damage caused by a malfunctioning CHS

An eighth is bioaerosols. One of the more well-known cases with PHSs is humidifier fever caused by a PHS that was not properly cleaned and reservoir water was allowed to sit in the unit and grow yuck. When the unit was operated, the yuck was injected into the air that people were breathing. But, CHSs are not without the same problems. In fact, they are essentially operating as a back-up filter to air handler filter. The debris collected on the media inside the CHS stays there until the media is replaced and that debris contains bioaerosols that may find the conditions inside the CHS a very nice place to grow. Nowadays, most PHSs are made so that the owner can readily clean the unit and all of them recommend using fresh water every time the unit is operated.

A ninth reason is cost. A homeowner can buy a lot of PHSs for the cost of one CHS. For sure, the initial cost of a CHS is much more than a PHS. But, consider also that if you are not happy with the operation of the humidification system, replacing a PHS is a lot cheaper than replacing a CHS. I have found cases where homes had unused or disabled CHSs along with PHSs that were being used.

A tenth and final reason is choice. For residences, homeowners are mainly stuck with one option—the wetted media CHS. Although residential steam injection CHSs are available, they are even more expensive than the wetted media CHSs. With PHSs, the owner has not only choice of the method of humidification, as explained in a previous post, a number of manufacturers produce the various types of PHSs. Having a range of options also means more competition with PHSs than with CHSs, which further means price and feature competition. I have seen several CHSs and they appear to be amazingly similar, while I have seen a range of PHS designs and those designs continue to evolve.

I guess I could be faulted in this post for not finding more advantages of CHSs over PHSs. The truth is, none comes to my mind other than the fact that water is supplied to the CHS, while the owner has to carry water to the PHS. Even though that difference could be considered an advantage of a CHS over a PHS, I think it can also be considered a disadvantage because when changing water, the owner actually is inspecting the PHS and likely keeping it clean.

In a previous post on virus and humidification, I promised to discuss more about humidification systems. In this post, I am going to discuss the basics of humidification systems. Humidity is a measure of the moisture in the air. Technically, the humidity that everyone is usually talking about, including the weather guys is relative humidity. Every so often, the term absolute humidity sneaks out of the scientific and engineering circles into the public. This is a different measurement of moisture in the air; but that is a subject for another day when I pretty much run out of other topics—and I do have a list.

Humidification systems are simply devices for putting moisture into the air. In our area, we only want to put moisture in the air during the winter. In the summer, we are more concerned with getting out of the air. The reason that people want to humidify air is that the air in our homes is extremely dry during the winter. Even though outdoor air during the winter may have what seems like a normal humidity level, when that air comes indoors and is heated, the relative humidity levels drop to levels seen in a desert—somewhere around 10%.

For homes, a homeowner has really two basic choices in humidification systems: central and portable. A central humidification system supplies water to the air going into or coming from the air handler. The humidified air is then distributed to all areas of the home.

Central humidification systems typically are recognized as a plastic box mounted on a return air duct near the air handler as seen in the photo below. However, I recently saw on system mounted on the supply air duct, which may have been the work of an installation instruction-challenged installer.

A typical central humidification system

Inside the box is a web-like media through which air flows. The air that flows through this media usually comes from the supply air duct just downstream from the air handler (the duct coming into the side of the humidifier in the above photo). A humidistat connected to a sensor normally in the return air duct upstream of the humidification system (the little white box above the humidifier in the above photo) operates an electronic water valve that controls the water flowing onto the media (the valve can be seen alongside the humidifier in the photo above). The humidistat is a control system for sensing moisture in the air similar to the way a thermostat senses temperature. The water valve is connected to the home’s water supply.

When the humidistat senses that the moisture level of the air is too low, it opens the valve to let water flow over the media. When the humidistat is satisfied, it closes the valve. Air flowing through the media is supposed to pick up the moisture through evaporation and carry it into the return air stream. Water flowing across the media that is not absorbed by the air is supposed to flow into an overflow that has a drain line to a nearby drain (the black tubing below the humidifier in the photo above). In a few cases, the humidistat is located in a living area of the home, usually next to the thermostat. Some humidistats are incorporated into the thermostat.

Most people will be more familiar with the portable humidification system, particularly since they are sold pretty much everywhere. These units are self-contained humidifiers that have a water reservoir and a means for converting the water into a mist. Some units also have a small fan to power air through the unit. Portable humidifiers have three methods for turning the water into a mist.

The first method for turning water into a mist is a nebulizer that is simply a vibrating plate onto which the water dribbles. The vibration breaks the water into a mist that is usually carried into the air by a fan-powered air stream. These units are pretty simple devices that use the electric current to generate the vibrations in the plate.

The second method for turning water into a mist is a rotating disk that slings water at a comb-like device, which is supposed to break the water up into a mist. The spinning disk operates both as a kind of pump to pull water up out of the reservoir and a means of slinging the water at the comb and a fan to push the mist out of the unit. This method tends to generate larger water droplets than the other methods, which can lead to water falling on surfaces around the unit. But, they are also commonly the cheapest units.

The third method for turning water into a mist is the old tried and true method from many of us boomers child-hoods is steam generation. These humidifiers have a electrical resistance element that heats up when electricity runs through it, similar to the elements on an electric stove. Water in contact with the heated element boils and is converted into steam. The steam literally is forced out of the unit because of the energy it absorbs as it turns to steam. This method of humidification is also used in most commercial and higher-end home humidification systems.

So, in summary, humidifiers convert water into water vapor through three methods; but all of them ultimately work through evaporation. Central humidification systems use direct evaporation of the moisture into the air as it passes through a wet media, similar to the way that we evaporate water from our skin. The other methods generate a mist with the intent to get it into the room air where the water will evaporate into the surrounding air. For these mist generators, the smaller the size of the droplets in the mist, the better the water evaporates. That doesn’t mean that central systems are more effective humidifiers than the others. Steam systems are actually the most effective method, but take more energy to do the humidification.

I will end this part of the discussion there. In the next post on humidification, I will discuss the pros and cons of central and portable humidification systems.